Liquid spray device



y 13, 1953 M. w. MILLER 2,834,635

LIQUID SPRAY DEVICE Filed June 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 20a a0 20 21312li a o u n II T] INVENTOR.

LIQUID SPRAY DEVICE Melvin W. Miller, Broadview, Ill., assignor toMuellermist Irrigation Co., a corporation of Illinois Application June22, 1955, Serial No. 517,246

11 Claims. (Cl. 299-104) This invention relates to a liquid dischargingmeans and in particular to means for discharging liquid in a fan-likesheet from a source outwardly into an atmosphere.

Where it is desired to spray a liquid in the form of mist or finedroplets, different forms of spray nozzles have heretofore been employedin the art. As such spray nozzles are relatively costly, however, theuse thereof is limited in applications wherein a large number of spraydischarge means is required, as in a lawn sprinkling system, a roofcooling system, or the like. In such an application, it has been foundeflicacious to use small, round openings in the duct forming the liquiddistributing system in lieu of utilizing the more costly nozzleelements.

Such small openings have proven considerably disadvantageous in thatthey tend to clog rapidly, limiting the flow therethrough and, in manycases, completely obstructing it. Such clogging is particularlyprevalent where the holes are of extremely small size as in roof coolingsystems where it is desirable to obtain a discharge in the form of avery fine mist.

Another pronounced disadvantage of the openings now in the art is thatthe discharge appears in the form either of a relatively solid stream orof a relaitvelyconical spray configuration. The relatively circularspray pattern produced by such a discharge makes it quite diflicult toobtain a uniform dispersal of the liquid over a flat area withoutconsiderable overlapping of the individual discharges.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a newand improved means for discharging a liquid into an atmosphere.

Another object is to provide means for discharging a liquid into anatmosphere in the form of a fan like spray, comprising a wall having anopening therethrough of new and improved configuration.

A further object is to provide a means for discharging a liquid into anatmosphere, comprising a wall having a small, self-cleaning openingtherethrough.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a discharging meansas described above wherein the opening is frusto-pyramidal and outwardlywidening.

Yet another object is to provide such means wherein the opening isfrusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening, and having a rhomboidal lateralcross-section.

A yet further object of the invention is to provide means fordischarging a liquid in a fan like sheet, comprising a tube adapted toreceive a liquid under pressureand provided with a frusto-pyramidal,outwardly widening opening therethrough having a rhombic lateralcrosssection, with the shorter axis of the rhombus extendinglongitudinally of the tube whereby the plane of the fan like sheet ofliquid is caused to extend longitudinally of the tube.

A yet further object is to provide a new and improved method of sprayingliquid in a fan-like sheet from a source outwardly into the atmosphere.

Other features and advantages of this invention will nited States Patentice be apparent from the following description taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational, broken view of a duct having liquiddischarging means embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of a portion of the ductwall having a liquid discharging opening therein;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken approximately along the line 3-3 ofFig. 2;.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken approximately along the line 4-4 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary view of the duct of Fig. 1 andwith liquid being discharged from the openings therein;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken approximately along the line 6-6 ofFig.5;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of a duct with a tool juxtaposed forforming an opening therein;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of the tool of Fig. 7looking from one side thereof;

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 but rotated therefrom; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary end view of the tool of Fig. 7.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawings,the liquid discharging means may be seen to comprise a suitable duct 20adapted to receive liquid, as water, under pressure. One or moredischarge passages or openings, generally designated as 30, are providedin duct 20 for discharging the liquid from the interior of the duct intothe circumambient atmosphere. As will be explained more fully herefollowing, openings 39 are constructed and arranged to cause dischargeof the liquid in a fan like sheet, generally designated 15, of extremelysmall droplets or mist. Control over the desired qualities of sheet 15,as size of the droplets, angle of spread, distance of throw, or plane ofthe fan is obtained through control of the opening configuration astaught hereinafter. Opening 30 is formed in duct 20 by a non-rotativepiercing operation conducted with a novel tool 40 having a pyramidal tip41 adapted to be forced through the Wall of the duct 20.

While duct 20 may have any suitable configuration, in the illustrativeembodiment depicted it; comprises a tube of circular cross-sectionhaving a fluid blocking cap 20a at one end and means such as threadedportion 20b, for connection to a fluid supply (not shown) at theopposite end. A typical and suitable example of such a tube is thatformed of nominal /2" copper tubing, type M hard, having an outsidediameter of .625" and a wall thickness of .028". Typical pressures ofthe liquid within the tube are those in the range of 0 to 50 pounds persquare inch above the ambient pressure. I

As best seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, opening 30 comprises afrusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening opening extending radially throughthe wall of the tube 20 and having four similar generally planarsurfaces 30a, 30b, 30c and 30d. The lateral cross-section of opening 30(taken at right angles to the radial axis of the opening) is generallyrhomboidal and as shown in Fig. 2 is preferably rhombic. To obtain thefan configuration of sheet 15, the ratio of the length of the longerdiagonal of the rhombic cross-section to the length of the shorterdiagonal thereof may be in the range of from just greater than 1 to 1 toupwards of 3 to 1, and I have found a ratio of 1 /2 to 1 producescompletely satisfactory results. Such a crosssection is obtained, asseen in Figs. 3 and 4, when the edges of the pyramid defining the endsof the shorter diagonal extend at an angle of 60 relative to each otherand the edges of the pyramid defining the ends of the longer diagonalextend at an angle of 90 relative to each other. I have found that anopening having a 1 to 1 ratio of the diagonals does not produce thedesired diate portions of the sheet.

fan shaped sheet but rather produces a generally conical spray, and,further, does not have the self-cleaning characteristic of the openingshaving the diagonal ratio range set out above.

As seen in Figs. 3 and 4,'the edge 31 at the inner end of opening 30 andthe'edge 32 at the outer end of the opening 30 do notrespectivelydefinetrue planes in that segments 31a, 31b, 31c and 31dcomprising the edge 31 extend outwardly "from the shorter diagonal andthe segments 32a, 32b, 32c and 32d comprising the edge 32 are somewhatarcuate. This deviation of edges 31 and 32 from true planar figures is afunction of the deformation in the-tube 20 and varies with the surfaceconfiguration of the tube, the wall thickness theref, the physicalproperties of the tube such as tensile strength, shear strength, andductility, and the included angles between the opposed pyramid edges.For purposes of this disclosure therefore, I define frusto-pyramidal asthe pyramidal surface between the generally planar surfaces defined bythe edges 31 and 32. Inthe preferred embodiment of the drawings anappreciable inward deformation of the tubing is .produced resulting in adeviation from the true planar configuration, as shown.

Immediately concentrically surrounding opening 30 at 21, tube 20 isdished radially inwardly. The depth of portion 21 may be varied over therange of practically zero to several times the wall thickness of thetube; I have found that with a lo" copper tube of the type describedabove a depth of approximately the thickness of the tube issatisfactory.

Because of the self-cleaning action produced by the fluid-inpassing'through the .frusto-pyramidal opening 30, the opening may bemade extremely small while yet avoiding the clogging tendencies of theopenings now found in the art. In openings adapted to discharge theliquid in a very fine mist, the length of the shorter diagonal, or thedistance across the opening .at the innermost portion of edges 31 (asseen in Fig. 3) may be .01" or smaller. Where heavy droplets aredesired, this dimension may be .045" or greater. Intermediate sizeopenings produce different size droplets ranging gradually from thosecomprising a very fine mist-to those comprising relatively large andheavy droplets. I have further found that, with a given size opening: adirect relationship exists generally betweenwthe size of the dropletsand the fluid pressure. Illustratively, ,anopening having a v.01 shorterdiagonal ,and a .015" longer ,diagonal'formed in'the nominal /2" tubedescribed above produces a very fine mist suitable for sprayingplantingbins, with negligible variation in droplet size between the low and highextremes of pressure normally encountered. An opening having a .023"shorterdiagonal and a .0345 longer diagonal in such a tube produces avery fine mist with the lower pressures and some heavy droplets with thehigher pressures so that it isparticularly well suited for use in roofspray cooling systems.

With the discharge means described above,the liquid is caused :to besprayed into the-atmosphere in a relatively planar, fan like sheet 15,as best seen in Figs. 5 and 6. Outer-edges 15a and 15b of sheet 15 areformed having somewhat larger size'droplets than those in the interme-The-angular extension of edges 15a and 15b to each other may be variedin a direct relationship by changing the size of opening 30,

increasing the pressure .of-the liquid in the tube, or varying the anglebetween opposed edges of opening 30.

The distance the liquid particles travel from opening v varies in directproportion to the size of the opening,

the angle of the pyramidal edges, or the pressure of the fluid in thetube20. Thus, as can best be seen in Fig. 6 although'sheet 15 isrelatively planar, fall out of the droplets therefrom occurs 'atdifferentdistances from the tube 20 so that a relatively :uniformdispersal of :the droplets is provided horizontally laterally of the.tube 20. As the angle prescribed by edges 15a and '15b'an'd the maximumtravel of the droplets in fan 15 are readily controlled by the methodsindicated above, a relatively uniform dispersal over large areas may bereadily effected by so controlling the characteristics of the individualsheets 15 and coordinating a plurality of them in suitable patternsf Theopenings 30 are preferably formed by piercing the wall of the tube 20.As best seen in Figs. 7-10, a piercing tool 40, formed of suitable toolmaterial, is provided at one end with an axially aligned pyramidalshapedtip 41 forming surfaces 41a, 41b, 41c and 41a. The pyramidalconfiguration is preferably one having a rhombic base so that theincluded angle between one pair of opposed edges 412 and 41f is lessthan the included angle between opposed edges 41g and 4111 which lie ina plane extending perpendicularly to the plane of edges 41a and 41f. Theintersection of the pyramidal tip surfaces 41a, 41b, 41c and 41d withthe periphery of the rounded shank 40 (in the illustrative embodimentdisclosed in the drawings shank 40 .is slightly frusto-conical) is abroken arcuate line 411' having segments 41 41k, 411 and 41m. Thespecific configuration of line 4li varies with the dimensionalcharacteristics of the pyramidal edges, the diameter of the shank 40,and the taper of the shank; I have found a tool wherein the shank taperis approximately 25%, the included angle between edges 41:: and

extending radially outwardly therefrom. Any suitable means (not shown)for providing the piercing force may be used. Tube 40 is forced throughthe wall of tube 20 until the vertex 4111 has penetrated through thewall and .is disposed interiorally thereof a suitable distance. As theamount of penetration of vertex 4112 is directly related to the size ofthe opening produced, ready and accurate control over the opening sizeis obtained through the simple control of the forcing means. As the toolis non- .rotatively moved during this operation, opening 30 may have thefrusto-pyramidal configuration described above with the resultantself-cleaning and sheet-forming characteristics indicated.

During the piercing operation,'tube 20, immediately surrounding theopening being formed, becomes dished as .seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Suchdishing is an automatic concomitant of this method of forming theopening and the depth of the dishing may be varied by modifying thephysical characteristics of the tubing or tool.

Where the liquid discharge sheet 15 is to extend in a plane parallel tothe longitudinal axis of tube 20, tool '40 is positioned during thepiercing operation with the edges 41e and 41 defining the smallerincluded angle,

extending in the plane of the desired sheet. Although the resultantopening 30 has its greatest dimension in a plane perpendicular to theplane of desired sheet 15, an unexpected disposition of the sheetparallel to the plane of the edges 41e and 411 is obtained. Further, theopening 30, formed by such a method of piercing, is nonclogging andself-cleaning thereby avoiding the flow obstructing disadvantages of theopening configurations now found in the art and allowing the use ofextremely small openings to obtain very fine mist discharges whendesired.

While I have :shown and described certain embodiments of my invention,it is to .be understood that it is capable of many modifications.Changes therefore in the construction and arrangement may be madewithout depar-ting from the spirit. and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Means for discharging a liquid in a fan like sheet from a sourceoutwardly into an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of theliquid in the'source, comprising a tube of circular cross sectionadapted to form a bounding portion of the liquid source, said tubehaving wall surfaces defining a frustopyramidal,' outwardly wideningopening therethrough having a rhombic lateral cross-section with theshorter diagonal of the rhombic configuration extending longitudinallyof the tube, whereby liquid may be discharged through the opening toform a fan like sheet extending generally in a plane longitudinal of thetube.

2. Means for discharging a liquid under pressure from a source outwardlyinto an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of the liquid inthe source, comprising a wall adapted to form a bounding portion of theliquid source, said wall having orifice-forming surfaces defining afrusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening opening therethrough having arhombic lateral cross-section, said surfaces being disposed at an angleno less than 30 with the axis of the orifice.

3. Means for discharging a liquid in a fan like sheet rorn a sourceoutwardly into an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of theliquid in the source, comprising a well adapted to form a boundingportion of the liquid source, said wall having four generally planarintersecting orifice-forming surfaces defining a frustopyramidal,outwardly widening opening therethrough having a rhombic lateralcross-section, said surfaces at the intersections being disposed at anangle to the axis of the orifice of not substantially less than 30 andnot substantially greater than 45.

4. Means for discharging a liquid under pressure from a source outwardlyinto an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of the liquid inthe source, comprising a wall adapted to form a bounding portion of theliquid source, said wall having orifice-forming surfaces defining afrusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening opening therethrough having arhombic lateral cross-section, wherein the included angle between onepair of opposed edges of the pyramidal configuration is approximately 90and the included angle between another pair of opposed edges of thepyramidal configuration lying in a plane perpendicular to the one pairof edges is approximately 60.

5. Means for discharging a liquid under pressure in a fan-like sheetfrom a source outwardly into an atmosphere having a lower pressure thanthat of the liquid in the source, comprising a tube adapted to form abounding portion of the liquid source, said tube having generally planarwall surfaces defining a frusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening openingtherethrough having a rhombic lateral cross-section, the shorterdiagonal of the rhombus being disposed to lie in the desired plane ofthe fan-like sheet.

6. Means for discharging a liquid under pressure from a source outwardlyinto an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of the liquid inthe source, comprising a tube having a circular cross-section with anoutside diameter of approximately .625 inch and a wall thickness ofapproximately .028 inch, said tube being formed of type M hard copperand forming a bounding portion of the liquid source, and said tubehaving generally radial orifice-forming surfaces defining afrusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening opening therethrough having a rhombic lateral cross-section.

7. Means for discharging a liquid under pressure from a source outwardlyinto an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of the liquid inthe source, comprising a tube of circular cross-section and having anoutside diameter of approximately .625 inch and a wall thickness ofapproximately .028 inch and formed of type M hard copper and forming abounding portion of the liquid source, said tube having orifice-formingsurfaces defining a frusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening openingtherethrough having a rhombic lateral cross-section wherein the lengthof the shorter diagonal at the inner end of the opening is in the rangeof .005 inch to .05 inch.

8. Means for discharging a liquid in a fan like sheet from a sourceoutwardly into an atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of theliquid in the source, comprising a tube of circular cross-section havingan outside diameter of approximately .625 inch and a wall thickness ofapproximately .028 inch formed of type M hard copper and forming abounding portion of the liquid source, said tube being provided with aradially inwardly dished portion having a centrally locatedfrusto-pyramidal, outwardly widening opening therethrough having arhombic lateral cross-section with the longest diagonal of the rhombicconfiguration approximately 1% times the length of the shortest diagonaland the length of the shortest diagonal at the inner end of the openinglying in the range of .005 inch to .05 inch and extending longitudinallyof the tube, whereby liquid may be discharged through the opening toform a fan like sheet extending generally in a plane longitudinal of thetube.

9. The method of spraying a liquid in a fan-like sheet from a sourceoutwardly into the atmosphere having a lower pressure than that of. theliquid in the source comprising forcing the liquid under the pressureditferential through an opening in means constituting a bounding portionof the liquid source, the opening being bounded by wall surfacesdefining a frusto-pyrarnidal outwardly widening orifice having a rhombiclateral cross section.

10. The method of claim 9, in which the surfaces defining the orificeform an angle of no less than 30 with the axis of the orifice.

11. The method of claim 9, in which the Wall surfaces are generallyplanar and intersecting, said surfaces at the intersections beingdisposed at an angle to the axis of the orifice of not substantiallyless than 30 and not substantially greater than 45 References titted inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Pacific Rural Press, page286, April 20, 1940, Perforated Drag-Type Sprinkler Device, by A. F.Pillsbury.

